Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Country manners

We took a longish walk yesterday just a mile or two from the main road. I felt like it might have been another planet. When people decry the loss of traditional life-ways in Sri Lanka it makes me wonder where they're looking. We were deep in a countryside where people look and act differently, where cars are rare and the pace of life...Well. I don't want to spout cliches. But it ain't Colombo.

Along a "main" road that existed as such only by dint of its label on google maps, and by the fact that it was being widened, we saw village behaviors that mark this kind of life. I wish I had stopped to observe more.

One thing that stuck out. It looked like groups of people were waiting for the occasional bus. Children in arms, teenagers, young adults, parents and grandparents all standing on a corner waiting for a bus. When the vehicle came one person would get on. A family send off for one person who might be going as far as Tangalle town, just five miles away!

About Me

I communicate science to non-scientists. My interest in the intersection between art and science, which I consider to be closely related practices, is the focus of two essay collections I am working on. As a Harvard PhD I realized that the work we do in the library and laboratory, while worthy in and of itself, does not necessarily translate to normal people. Bridging that gap is my goal in my teaching practice and in these posts. I teach college sophomores at Boston University and I teach in the sustainability program at the Boston Architectural College.